28 in retrospect...

The last month has been filled with more ups and downs than I care to recall, but seeing as yesterday was my 29th birthday, I though it only fitting to write a post that reflects on what I have learned.. if anything... and the people who have had a profound effect on my life over the last year. I know that each relationship, good or bad,  has changed me in some way.  I want to say a little something to a few people in particular, and hopefully they will understand how much they mean to me. :)


To my family...


Christopher and Kisa, you two are the lights in my life. I am so proud of the people you have become and I am so honored to be your older sister. Over the past few months, our relationships have grown stronger in ways I never knew possible. Thank you so much for always staying true to yourselves and teaching me what it takes to be a stronger person. I look up to both of you. 


Shawna, you are the best older sister ever. Thank you for always being there for me to talk to and hoping me work through my problems. Even when things did not go my way, you were there to give me good advice, and ultimately put a smile on my face in my darkest times. Thanks for being my lady hero.


To the rest of my family, this year has been one of mending broken relationships and I am so happy that we are all finally on the path to healing. A few of you have taken some major steps to improve the quality in your lives and I am inspired to continue to do the same. I can't wait until we are together again so we can celebrate. Love you all. 


To my friends...


Karina, where do I begin? I knew from day one that you were someone special. You are the type of friend that a person compares all other friends to. How ever did I get so lucky to have you in my life? Being able to spend so much time with you recently has truly been the best gift I could ask for. Thanks for making my birthday so special. 


Terry, I am constantly surprised by your loyalty. Just when I think that I have not made any true friends here in New York, you show up and change everything. No matter what I'm doing, you have always supported me 100%. I have no idea how you do it, but you always show up. Thank you for that. 


Jon, you and I know more than anyone what it means to have a roller coaster relationship. Yet... no matter what, I know that you are always going to be in my life. I owe you so much. You picked me up when I was broken and showed me what it meant to have true swagger. I accredit my slightly thicker skin to you. If you were not in my life, I would have never made it this long. Thank you for showing me what unconditional love feels like. 


To my relationships lost...


It really saddens me to have a section like this in my blog. But If I've learned anything over the last year, it's that you win some and you lose some. Everyone has heard the saying, that if you can count your true friends on one hand, then you are lucky. My birthday wish this year is for my luck to go up. I miss my friends, but loosing them has really made me cherish the ones I have. And maybe, someday soon, these broken relationships can be repaired. 




OK.... enough downer talk. I know it might be hard to grasp based on the above text, but I'm actually in very good spirits and very excited for what this next year has in store. At 29 years of age, a great turning point is ahead of me. And I, for once feel that I am on the right track to great happiness, love, and success. I've already had so many samples and I'm ready to place my order. 


This year is going to be about making those necessary tweaks to insure that my transition into the the next decade comes with great ease. I am thrilled to be performing again, and deep down feel that I have achieved some great childhood dream of moving to New York and becoming a star. I'm not quite there yet, but I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to truly believe that my dream is a possibility. 


Over the next year, I plan to continue to seek internal satisfaction, and to do my best to keep you updated on my journey. I've come a long way and I know I still have so far to go. But I can honestly say, when I stop and take a really good look at my life, that I am blessed. Thank you to everyone who has helped to get me here, no matter what the status of our relationship. I love you, and I always will.  


XOXO

Just a few pictures from my birthday celebration...

Starting the night off right...

Pizza and Lombardi's

First Burlesque show of the night

SharkBite SideShow @ R.Bar

Quickly followed by first drink of the night

Blue Moon :)

Drink # 2

Some speciality Coney Island Brew. 

Pretty yummy :)

Drink #3 A show of Jameson

Accompanied my the host of the night,

Coney Island's own... Adam "The first real man"

At the 2nd show of the night...

That's Incredible Burlesque @

Bowery Poetry Club

Drink #4 & #5... Not sure which is which. 

The lovely PBR and whisky shot combo.

Reminds me of a tale, long long ago, in the small

town of Williamsburg... 

Drink #6 with some crazy black guy.

Just kidding... thats my buddy. :)

Another PBR and Whisky shot combo... shared :)

Happy drunk girl and her bestie getting ready to call it a night

Hi Karina. (She is awesome. See paragraph above) <3

And this final pic was taken on the actually day of my 29th b-day.

The best birthday party a girl could ever ask for. Hanging out,

eating pizza, drinking wine (Yes its the cheap stuff and we drank it all),

watching A Goofy Movie, and surrounded by love. Winning!

Pushing forward...

Hey guys, this post will be on the shorter side, but I wanted to update you on the last 30 days of my workout plan. As you know, I started doing the Hop Hop abs work-out videos, and I am happy to say that I completed the 30 days. I am pretty satisfied with the results I experience and wanted to give you a final update before I move on to telling you about my next work-out assignment. 

With Hip Hop abs, I found that it is a great work out for beginners. It's fast paces and full of fun and energetic moves that make it feel like you are not even working out. But, like any workout plan I have tried, I found myself getting bored with the repetitive videos. But, in order to give you guys an valid review, I made sure to stick with it. 

For the first 2 weeks, you rotate between the Fat Burning Cardio and Ab sculpt videos. However, in the 2nd week, you are doing 2 videos most days. In the 3rd week, you add in both the Total Body Burn and the Hips, Buns, and Thighs videos, still doing 2 videos most days. And in the 4th week, you are rotating through all 4 videos. Needless to say, with a plan that required you to work out 6 days a week, I was very excited whenever I got to add a new video into the mix. 

In 30 days, I lost about 6 pounds. Although I am pretty positive that I lost more fat and gained lean muscle. I built up my endurance levels and am very happy with the amount of inches I lost. 

                                   Day 1             Day 30           Difference

Bust                       35"                33.5"              -1.5"

    Belly Button          34"                29.25"            -4.75"

      Waist                     28"                25.75"            -2.25"

       Hips                      38.5"              35"                 -3.5"

         Right Thigh          23.75"            21.25"            -2.5"

             Left Thigh            23.5"              21"                 -2.5"

               Right Arm            11.75"            10.5"              -1.25"  

            Left Arm              11.25"            10.25"            -1"

Total inches lost = 19.25" 

I obviously did not take the best before and after shots, but here are the photos from day 1 and day 30. Hopefully you see a difference because I can. Especially in my face :) For my next photo, Ill try to remember to wear the same outfit. 

DAY 1

DAY 30

So now It's time to push forward and tell you about the new workout plan I have started. I am currently on day 3 of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. This workout plan requires you to work out EVERY DAY for 30 days and claims that, with a healthy diet, you can lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days.  But the thing is... the work out are only 20 minutes long, which is great for my busy lifestyle. 

Now I realize that I am not trying to lose 20 additional pounds. Since I started my weight loss journey, I am down 12 pounds and just about to reach my goal of being back into the 130s. Last week, Easter weekend, was a bit of a set back for me, but nothing I cant handle. And I am positive that I will be in the 130's by the time I leave for London in 3 weeks. But I have a new goal. Since I feel so good, I am going to try to continue this until I am 127. That is, for some reason, my absolute dream weight. And I plan to hit it by my 29th birthday on May 13th. Meaning, that I still have to work my butt off, even while on vacation. 

So... over the next 30 days, I will continue to update my measurements and photos every week so you guys can see my progress. And I will also try to add some more recipes in the near future. I am planning to go hard and be diligent about my diet and exercise because I would love to give myself the best birthday gift ever. A body that I can be proud of. It is amazing how much my confidence has boosted over the last month and I can only imagine what it will be like in another month. So please wish me luck!

Also... I have a burlesque style photo shoot scheduled for tomorrow. 

I will be sure to upload a few of the photos on this blog. But in the mean time, feel free to add me on 

Facebook~ http://facebook.com/Miss.P.Ivory or follow me on 

Twitter~ https://twitter.com/#!/AIvory

for new pics and any updates on performances.


Until next time... ❤

Passing the plateau...

I first want to apologize for this post being a few days late. I have been unbelievably busy making my creative dreams a reality. I'll get to more on that in a moment. But for now, I want to update you on my weigh loss progress from the last week. 

I am happy to say that I currently weigh in a 143.1. That's a 2.6 pound loss from last week and I am not complaining. I am so close to being in the 130s, I can almost taste it. That number represents so much to me. I know that I am getting healthier, but working through all of the normal pitfalls is more amazing than anything.  Every time I would try, I would hit a speed bump, and quit. This time, the speed bumps are still there, but I am still moving forward. I get emotional just thinking about it. 

This has been a 15 year long battle for me, being unhappy with my body. And I was so sick of wishing that something would about it. Making deal with God that if I woke up one morning with the perfect body, like magic, then I swear I'd maintain it. Never realizing that God had given me the perfect body all along, and that it was up to me to do the rest. So now I am putting in the work, and I feel amazing. Completely sore, but still amazing.  

As far as my diet goes, I mentioned before that I am off of the no carb diet. And I am thankful, :) but I am still eating very healthy. Truth be bold, when I head to the market for my weekly shopping, I find it very hard to now to purchase food times that I know are bad for me. I was only successfully able to add whole grain wheat break and oatmeal to my diet without feeling guilty. I know that its working for me though because I have found that I have a lot more energy without having to eat so much.

Here are a few of my favorites from the past week. 

FRESH FRUIT SALAD

Mango, Pineapple, Strawberries, Blackberries, Banana.

(You can add any fruit your heart desires)

Anyone who knows me understands my love for fresh 

fruit salads. I have the privilege of going to Colombia last 

year on vacation and we would have a fresh fruit salad every 

day. Its perfect for breakfast, snacks, sides, or desserts. 

OATMEAL 

Regular oatmeal with fresh fruit.

I love this. I have started eating it almost every morning. 

And its another perfect item to combing with your fruit

salad. I suggest making a huge amount. It wont go bad.

 CHICKEN/SPINACH SALAD

(Deconstructed)

Pan Grilled Chicken and sauteed spinach.

Remember that Chicken/Spinach Salad from another post? 

Well I wanted to do another take on the same ingredients. 

I decided to use the apple vinaigrette that I made for the salad, 

and sauté the spinach with it. I'm telling you... A-MA-ZING! 

I swapped the avocado out for Watermelon. Which is My 

favorite for the the warming weather. 

Ok.. Enough about food, lets get to some measurements. 

                           DAY 1         DAY 22             DIFFERENCE

Bust                    35"               34"                     -1"

Waist                  28"               26.5"                  -1.5"

Belly Button       34"               30"                     -4"

Hips                   38.5"            35.5"                   -3"

R. Thigh            23.75"           22"                     -1.75"

L. Thigh            23.5"             21.5"                  -2"

R. Arm              11.75"           10.75"                -1"

L. Arm              11.25"           10.5"                  -.75"

That's a total of 15 inches in 3 weeks of working out 6 says a week and eating well. Not too shabby. Here is my weekly photo update so those of you with visual minds can see my process.  

***Quick update on my Supplement***

Used it 4 times now. Works wonders. Energy for days. I could not be happier.  

And last but not least; at the beginning of this post I told you about making my creative dreams a reality. To elaborate on that, I have been a dancer on and off for the last 13 years. I know... shocker, a dancer with weight problems. lol. But to be honest, my weight was always something i have self conscious about and that definitely affected my dancing. Now that I am older, and much more confidant in myself and my body, I decided to start dancing again, but with a little less on. lol

I recently got into Burlesque dancing. I love it because it celebrates the female form and a woman's strength without objectifying them. I have found it to be a celebration of all the things I am learning to love about myself and I feel so empowered doing it. I recently had my first audition and I am happy to say that I have booked my first performance. I will put the details up soon. Also, I am going to be kittening a Burlesque show on Wednesday April 4th at 9pm at the Smyth Hotel in Manhattan. Come and support if you can. :)

I know this has been a long post. But thank you for reading. :)

xoxo

*Miss Poison Ivory*

Supplemented...

I wanted to post about a change in my workout/diet. I mentioned at the beginning of this journey that I wanted to loose weight without the help of supplements. And up until yesterday, that was my absolute plan. I figured that, with the right diet and plenty of exercise, I would not need it. However, after a phone conversation with my trainer, who happens to be my brother, my opinions changed.  


He asked me how my work-outs were going, and not wanting to lie to him, I told him that I was struggling. I no longer had the same motivation that I had at the beginning of this process and I knew that my workouts were losing intensity. At this point, he recommended that I add a pre-workout supplement into the mix. I was hesitant, but after 2 weeks with really no results, I was beginning to feel like I was in over my head. I honestly no longer had the energy to work out properly. 


My bother assured me that, with the help of a good pre-workout supplement, I would be able to make it over this hump in my training. So I headed down to the local GNC store, and with the help of the employees, and a few phone calls to my brother, I landed on the Jack 3d Pre-Exercise Supplement.

Now.. I was a little intimidated by this product. Was I gonna get super buff like a dude? Was I going to pass out from my heart beating too fast? was it not going to work at all? I was not sure. On the label it says,under the BLACK BOX WARNING:

This product may produce an intense sensation of

focus, energy, & awareness. In addition, its key 

ingredients may allow for workout domination in

conjunction with proper training and diet. Use

with caution under strict dosing protocols. 

So... I would up not taking it the day I got it. I decided to wait until today when my mind was clear and I was ready for it. And let me just say... I don't think I have ever had a better workout. I don't know if any of you have seen that movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper, but I honestly felt like I was on that. I never felt jittery, but I did feel like I had the energy and strength to boost my workout up a few notches. I was able to double my work out time, and push myself farther than I thought possible. I have to admit, I'm sold. 

Now... I am in no way telling anyone that they should use supplements or am I endorsing this product in any way. I just wanted to let the readers (and I know I have at least 1 dedicated reader  ♥) what I was doing and I wanted to be honest about it.  I do feel that this was the boost I needed to get me to where I want to go. 

I will continue to update any and all changes to my work-out routine and if you have any questions about products, diet, or my work out plan, please let me know.  And I want to end this with a quick shout out to my friends and family who are supporting me on my journey to internal satisfaction. Love you guys!

Me and my Trainer/ Baby Brother/ Hero

This week...

Since I've been super busy, I wanted to make a quick post that covered my entire last week. I have to say that I did not experienced the results that I anticipated. But to be fair, I did not work as diligently as weeks prior. I'm not going to be a myself up about this because it's natural for anyone to have a bad week, but I am happy to see that the numbers are still going in the right direction. 




I was super charged up after my week 2 results left much to be desired, but after a few days, I felt burned out. I mentioned that I would be continuing my No/Low carb diet for another week, and I'm happy to say that I did. Now that's its over, I cant imagining going back to the way I use to eat. I still plan to avoid the major Carb players, breads, Pasta, et cetera, but I'm not going to be as strict on other foods. I wanted to upload a picture of one of my favorite dishes that has recently been added to the menu. 

Grilled Chicken w/ No-Pasta Pasta

I sauteed onions, red pepper, large leafs of spinach 

mushrooms, stewed tomatoes and seasoned to taste. 

I love this meal because I feel like I'm eating spaghetti. I like 

to slice the peppers into long strips to give me even more of 

the pasta feel. And You can even opt to add a little Parmesan 

cheese on top. But not too much :)

Now for my weigh in. On Wednesday, I think I was too bummed to post the results, but I need to put it out there anyway. Although mid-week, I saw that I got down to 144.4, By the time I reached weigh in day, I was back to 145.7. Still technically lower than last week, but I was hoping for more. I'm not going to get discouraged because I till have a month and a half to reach my goal of 134.


I just did my weekly measurements. And as with my weigh in, the results were not fabulous, but still heading in the right direction.

Bust.....                               34 (Down 0")

Belly Button....                   31 (Down 2")

Waist....                        27 (Down .5")

Hips....                     37 (Down 0")

Right Thigh.... 22.5 (Down .5")

Left Thigh....  22.25 (Down .25")

Right Arm....             11 (Down 0")

Left Arm....                    10.5 (Down 0")

This week I need to focus on my upper and lower body. I have been focusing on my Abs, and happy to see that my mid suction had gone down, but I want the rest of my body to get with the program. I will post next week at the latest with my results. And... because it's Friday, I'll end this with my progress photo. 

Measurements are in...

Happy Friday!

I am coming to you from a state of exhaustion, so this post will be a little short. I have been in the process of redecorating a room for a dear friend of mine, and it is taking up a lot of my time. But, I still managed to get my workout in and I have still been on track as far as my diet goes.

In my last post, I mentioned that I was feeling pretty bummed over my 1.1 pound weight loss last week. I think I am finally past that let down because, as mentioned in that post, today I would be updating my measurements. And I am SO HAPPY to say that I have indeed lost some inches. :)

                       DAY 1          DAY 8         DIFFERENCE
 Bust                   35"                 34"                      -1"
Waist                 28"                 27.5"                  -.5"
Belly Button     34"                 33"                     -1"
Hips                  38.5"              37"                     -1.5"
R. Thigh            23.75"            22.75"                -1"
L. Thigh            23.5"              22.5"                  -1"
R. Arm              11.75"            11"                     -.75"
l. Arm               11.25"            10.5"                  -.75"     


Total inches lost: 7.5" 

I have to say, that's not bad for a week :)      

And of course I did not forget. I promised that I would upload a progress photo along with my measurements. Just keep in mind that this photo was taken right after a work out, so I'm looking a little busted. :)

Thats all for now folks. XOXO

Only 1 pound? Seriously...

Today is Wednesday, and as promised, I am updating the results of my weekly weigh in.

My starting weight............  152. 2  

Last week I weighed in at... 147.3

This week I weighed in at... 146.2

That's a difference of 1.1 pounds. I did not hit my goal of losing 3 pounds this week. I have to admit, I was a little bummed when I saw the number on the scale. But I had to keep in mind the following;

     1. I just started a new work out program.
         I have felt my body getting stronger, and I know that muscle weighs
         more than fat.

     2. The is week 2 of my weight loss journey.
         The first week of my diet, my body went into schlock and was shedding
         a lot of excess water.

     3. I'm still headed in the right direction.
         It's natural to get discouraged when the number on the scale does not
         reflect the work you've done.

The key is, not to let it get you off track. I knew from the beginning that I was not going to lose this weight, in a safe way, and keep it off by only committing to 2 weeks worth of work. If anything, I have a better idea of what it will take to get the weight off.

So here is my plan for this week. I am sticking to my No/Low Carb diet for at least another week and I am upping the intensity of my workouts by adding 1 pound wrist weights. Also, my workout plan will be increasing my routines from 1 to 2 workouts on most days.

I have to say, I am looking forward to Friday, my measurements day.  I have a feeling that what I did not see on the scale will more than be made up for in inches. And because I had a low number on the scale this week, I am upping next weeks goal to 4 pounds. I know it seems drastic, but I think my body is up for it.

Wish me luck!